Mini-mini mini-update

The latest issue of Make Modern recently came out and included an article on the mini-mini quilt movement that was happening late last year and included some of my own work which was really flattering! They also put out a mini-mini challenge which has kick started the movement again, and it’s been really fun seeing what people have been making.

However, it also has brought to light that I’ve done a terrible job sharing my own mini-mini quilts on the blog. So I’m here to fix that.

The first one I made was for Yvonne @ quilting jetgirl. This one got its own blog post, so if you want to know more, you can read about it there.

The second one I made was for Jayne @ twiggy and opal. I’m a huge fangirl of Jayne’s work, so I was super happy to have a chance to swap with her. She asked for bright colors and “control with a twist.” I decided to make a color wheel as controlled color, but add “a twist of lime” to the greens section. This is pieced, and it was making this that made me realize that while I don’t mind working with curves, working with curves at 2″ finished is not something I’m going to seek out in the future.

The third (and currently last) one I made was for Shauna @smoobug. She didn’t ask for anything which kinda broke my brain a little bit. I’m a person who makes my own challenges all the time because “open-ended” is not something I handle well. In the end, it turns out we both geek out on the same shows, so I made her a Benedict Cumberbatch/Sherlock mini-mini. And then it got returned to me THREE TIMES by the post office because apparently they lie about a package needing to be over 3/4″ thick vs a thick envelope being less than that and I finally just drove to her house in the middle of the night and put it in her mailbox which felt kind of creepy but whatever because it made it.

Anyway. Right.

One of the joys of swaps is that you get lovely things in return. 😀

First up, from Yvonne, I gave her “friendship” as a theme. At the time I was going through an out-of-the-blue and weirdly drama-filled time with someone I had considered a friend and it left me feeling really off-kilter and unsure about my other friendships. Well, Yvonne took it up a notch by not only making me a friendship star (natch) but also chatting with my close friends and asking for words they’d used to describe me. She then stitched them onto the mini. I hadn’t told her what was going on at all, but she somehow managed to make the perfect salve anyway!

From Jayne, I gave her the theme of “creativity” and she made this beauty. I love the question mark, as creativity is so much about questioning and experimentation. The back has a special message she put there for me, and it makes me smile every time I see it!

And finally, Shauna didn’t get a theme and so she went with what I’m obviously all about: hair color, my dog, and my cat. hahahaha it’s so perfect!! The brown fabric also has a bit of a fuzzy feel to it as well, kinda like my pup.

Now that the mini-mini quilts are making a comeback, I might have to make a few more. They sure do come together quickly and they’re a great way to experiment with new design ideas! Are any of you making mini-minis for the challenge?

14 thoughts on “Mini-mini mini-update”

I can’t believe you stopped at only making 3; these are seriously addicting. You have such artistry, even in your tiny work. I’m honored to have received one and although the one I made for you isn’t to the same level, I’m glad it meant / means a lot to you. <3

Honestly, the reason I stopped making them was because the PITA it was to get the last one to its intended recipient. I love making them, I love having them go to other people, I hate the actual process of shipping things. :/
And I will not hear any derogatory comments about the mini you made for me. It is perfect and was exactly what I needed at the time I got it. <3

I didn’t mention the sizes because I didn’t remember to measure them and since I don’t have them, I can’t measure them now. 🙁 I know they are all under 6″ x 6″ and each one got smaller. I think the Sherlock Holmes one is about 4.5″ x 4.5″?
I’d love to make more, and hope to in a few months. 🙂 They’re great for trying out different ideas!

Hahaha it has nothing to do with self-control and everything to do with my utter hatred of shipping things. I don’t know what my deal is with it, but it’s what keeps me out of bees and swaps in general. Especially given the last one required me to drive it to the person’s house, it was easy to stop there. HAHAahah

I laughed out loud when I read that you actually drove to her house! I am wondering of course how many states away she lived and how much time was invested in that delivery, since living in rural Maine, I’d be spending days driving to any quilty swap recipients’ houses!! But what a hilarious story! I don’t blame you one bit, either! Mailing is a BIG hangup of mine, too. I’ll have a project finished and ready to go for days, weeks, sometimes sadly months, but want to include *just* the perfect package accoutrements and it sits and sits. Either way, gorgeous makes. When I finally make it through my pile of promised obligations, I’d be up for a no timeframe, no stress about mailing swap. If you are, of course. No pressure, and I won’t be ready to join in until 2017 prob. Maybe sooner, if I’m on point with staying on task!

Hahahahaa fortunately the recipient only lived 30 minutes away. 🙂 It took WAY less time to hand deliver than it did to wait 4 days each time it got returned. SO annoying! And YES, the packaging is such an issue. I’ve started saving mailers I get so I can send them back out, but still. :/ Mailing is totally the poop part of swaps. I’d do WAY more swaps if there were no shipping involved. 🙂 Well, and if I still had free time. Which I don’t. And may never again. :O
But if I do, it’d probably be around 2017 or later, so that time frame works great for me. 😀

Those mini-minis are super addictive! I love how quick they are to finish and then you can move on to something new. It works well with my “oh, a chicken!” personality. lol I’m glad there’s been a second wave as well, I hope that it ends up being something that continues for a while. 🙂